Big

Yesterday I think it officially began....I feel BIG. I have managed to sneak a nap in every day this week but the in between time I feel so full of energy. I think yesterday I was doing too much (if sitting at a sewing machine for 3 hours can be considered exerting yourself) because I started to get a sharp pain in my side. I laid down for a bit and it passed in a few minutes but yuck. We went out last night to make a few purchases since we had some good coupons at Baby R Us and just walking around the store my belly was starting to get sore. It made me feel big. What is even worse is that my 3rd trimester starts next week and I am only going to get bigger. I am sure it is all just growing pains but it makes me feel weak and out of shape, in between the bouts of alive and FULL OF ENERGY. Being pregnant is one of the strangest things (physically, emotionally, socially) that I have had the joy of experiencing thus far.

As for now I am going to go feel big at Starbucks while I read my Nora Roberts for a while. I am truly a Patterson, I just need that daily fix of social interaction. Think about it, I am going by myself to sit in a booth and read in my own head, but somehow since the baristas know me and I can people watch and say hello I feel like I am "out" and among friends. Ok you Psych major and counselors there has to be a name for that? Greg calls it expensive ;-)

Currently..

I am quilting....

A tree skirt for the Moore family...scheduled to be done today or tomorrow depending on how into it I get tonight.

I am reading...

On Becoming Baby Wise: My friend Kimmy, new mom with a baby that actually sleeps through the night recommended it so I figured can't hurt.

Blue Dahlia: always have to have a Nora Robert trilogy in there somewhere

I have been craving....

The chocolatey, peanut buttery, crunchy, melty, pull aparty goodness of these processed no-nutritional value snack!

I am sitting....

In my office wondering why I am here when I just dropped Jen off at the air port and there are no athletes to be seen or heard.

26 weeks

I had to look up how far along I was, lost count... But here are some belly shots from Sunday before church. I went to the beauty school last week and got my hair trimmed and colored back to my natural color so all the highlights from last July that had half grown out are gone. This way I wont have to mess with it for a while, hooray for cheap hair do. Ignore the squinty face, I feel silly posing for these photos and it was sunny out, but my toes match my shirt nicely :)

Quick updates: I feel good, getting used to the evening heart burn and getting winded walking up all of our stairs or on our walks when I try to talk too much, not that I could ever talk too much. Lilly is moving more and more which is very encouraging and fun since Greg gets to feel her in there. I think Greg will be sleeping on the spare bed in the basement before long, sorry hunny, since I can not just sleep I toss and turn all night for no apparent reason (could be all the fun and horrifying dreams I am having). Trying to balance in the shower to shave my legs has turned into an interesting task.

Long trip, long lost pictures

We lost, we made history but the softball team ultimately lost in the NCAA regional tournament. The history part was making it there, and winning 2 games, and beating the #2 ranked team in the nation. The heat was too much and it was so humid and after losing to them in a 10 inning game we had to regroup and play them again (double elimination), and we just could not hold them. It was a great trip but a long trip and I am glad to be home. That being said here are some pictures I had promised. This is Patrick Robert's quilt. I love how there is a hidden pattern within the basic pattern, fun. I did swirly quilting again with a white minky back. I really couldnt get a great picture but you get the general idea.

Here is my first attempt at sewing on a zipper and making a pillow case, kinda bunchy, but it works for me, and Minnie seems to like it.

I made the mistake of purchasing an actual pattern to make something the other day. I have realized that first of all then the pattern says "sew easy" they are lying and secondly, I prefer sewing scraps of fabric together, rather than trying to make something you can wear...more to come on that later. I will leave you now as I dont want to be late for my hour long massage, jackpot!

4 letter word....

Well maybe a 8 letter word, FEELINGS. Ug, I am sick of them in me and my new body, and I am sick of them in others and how their feelings effect me in a new way with all my new feelings. He feels, she feels, we all feel, blah, SO SICK OF IT! Can't we all just Be, why do we have to feel so much. I feel (oh, there I said it again) like in some arenas of my life I cannot even speak in order to preserve these feelings in myself and others it is exhausting. I cannot wait till I can just BE Holly again and throw up my wall at the first sign of emotional turmoils and let the feelings just fly into the wall and bounce off onto the ground. That is my usual M.O. and I have to say I really like it that way, not so sure how others feel but that is the glory of the wall....you don't really care at that point. (Wow, I bet I sound like another 5 letter word)

Ok... morning venting session over...

Tomorrow, I am heading to GA with the softball team, they made it to NCAA regionals, which is a huge honor and a first for the school. So, I will be gone all weekend, no crafting, no cleaning, no nesting, just long days and a lot of dirt. In order to prepaire I have scheduled a massage for myself at my Chiropractor friend's office, and another for after the trip, since we are taking a bus. The perks of having your deductable met on your insurance is you can do things like this for FREE now, by the real professionals. I am really excited.

Crafty

I had a crafty weekend. I forgot to take some photos though...I managed to make a pillow case for my boppy, using the pillow case that came with it as a template. It was my first experience installing a zipper, I was afraid, but it actually went really well. I got some cheap snuggle flannel fabric from Joann's (2.99/yd on sale) and a zipper (1.50) and poof, pillow case. I was pretty impressed with myself, it doesn't quite fit like a glove, but enough that I will be using it and trying again with different fun fabrics. It was so cheap, and I am sure you can't have enough pillow cases!

This weekend: (pictures to follow)
Finish Patrick's quilt (check)
Finish Lilly's quilt top (check)
Get fabric to finish Christie's tree skirt (check, and really cute and on a really good sale, double check)
Make boppy pillow case just to prove to myself I can (check)
Rearrange all the cupboards and counters in the kitchen because you just felt like it (check)
Make way to many oatmeal raisin cookies (check)

Next on the agenda:
Finish tree skirt, eat oatmeal raisin cookies !!!

Daily e-vos

I am currently reading Beth Jones Jumpstart 365 devotional. If you are looking for a short, sweet, and impactful daily devo to get your mornings off right you can get it in e-mail form by logging on here.

God is...

This morning while doing my devos and drinking my chai I was reminded that God is my comforter, counselor, helper, intercessor, advocate, strengthener, and standby.
I have been doing a lot of thinking this week about pretty much everything! It is slow at work so my mind has time to wander. Here is a taste: I am nervous about going up to Michigan in June. I am sad for my family there who has to deal with the deteriorating state of their loved ones, and the knowledge that there is truly nothing we can do to help. I am stressed about being a mom and all those things I don’t know that I don’t know. I was blessed to be there when Katie and Logan were born and to be a huge part in raising them as newborn-infants, but I was not the mom, and that was 8 years ago. There is so much you cannot learn from talking to other moms and reading books, it will just be a learn as you go process. I am worried about who will be the head ATC next year and if we will get along, or if the athletes will like him/her. I am sad because my best friend here is leaving to go only God knows where (no really only God knows…). I think about where Greg and I will be/should be in a year or two. It is a time for change there is no doubt about that and I can only pray that God will be my comforter, counselor, helper, intercessor, advocate, strengthener, and standby in all these situations that are flooding my mind with emotions. That fact if nothing else does provide my heart with some peace…

23 weeks

and it is HOT! SO HOT! WHY IS IT SO HOT?!?! Oh yeah, we are in Florida. I don't know why I forget how hot it gets here but today it was just so hot after lunch and I was just pondering how horrible it is going to be in a month or two when it is not only hot but HOT & HUMID and I am not only pregnant but BIG & PREGNANT...wow, that is really something to look forward to. Praise God for the pool and a floating raft.

On a brighter, less whinny note it is officially 23 weeks and 1 day (23 weeks 6 days if you base it on the last ultrasound) Lilly has been very wiggly on a regular basis, I have not seen my shirt jump but Greg has been able to feel her moving more and more. Usually right before we go to sleep she puts on a little dance for him, I think we both enjoy it.

Shower Time

(the cake with battle scars from the ride over and a solid inch of frosting on top)

Jen Farroll my bestest friend this side of the Mason Dixon line threw me a baby shower yesterday. My favorite students, ladies from the office, my local friends, etc... were there. We rented out the clubhouse at my condo association for the event. The bad part? It was a nice sweltering 85* inside the building. Someone failed to tell us the AC was broken and it was easily 90's outside. So we did what any athletic trainers would do...we adapted and got lots of fans from my house and just made it work. Despite the TV not working (ambient music) and the rolls of sweat, it was a great shower and I was sooooooo touched by all the effort my friends put into it. For those of you who don't know I LOVE ORANGE! So they kinda went with orange and hot pink, which was perfect because I dressed to match without even knowing.

The belly at 22.5 weeks, you cant really see it well in this dress but I decided to strike a pose before heading over to the shower

A few of the ladies working on quilt squares for me with markers and ribbon and thread, it took Carrie, green dress, 20 minutes to glue on a bow and sign her name.

Jen and me with my "mommy to be" pin on . The diaper cake, with hair clip bows, and bath squirtie sea creatures. SO CUTE!

The gifts were wonderful, Lilly is going to be well dressed that is for sure!

The athletic training girls, Jen (who watches Mya for us when we go out of town), Carrie, Me, Jen, and Dani.

Kaylie's Quilt

Karem Hernandez, one of the office managers at PBA, is having a baby in late July, Kaylie. Her room is going to be lady bugs, red, black, and lime green. Here is my interpretation of that....

Bees, hummingbirds, flowers, and dots, Looks nice on Lilly's crib doesn't it?!The back is a lady bug batik fabric that I LOVE! I really lucked out with that one, and I used up some of the fat quarters on the back for something extra, as well as the binding is the left over fabrics from the front, it worked out really well.

I did my favorite quilting stitch the meandering swirly with a fun lime green variegated thread called "lime sherbet." The swirls work well the with bees, looks like their flight path or something. Here is Karem opening it up at my shower yesterday, everyone looked at me funny when I brought a gift to my own shower. But, I was unable to go to hers, and I just got the quilt done so I figured why not. Hopefully picture of baby and quilt to come. Seems like every one I make is my new favorite. Who doesn't like bright pink and lime green?!